


The Green Drake

by cheesebeanmilk



Series: Two Worlds - Dragon AU [4]
Category: Sideshow - Fandom
Genre: Dragon AU, Gen, Sideshow - Freeform, get that twink some friends please, one is the loneliest number that you'll ever dooo, this bitch lonely YEET, this was sitting in my drafts for too long....my sincerest soz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23826124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheesebeanmilk/pseuds/cheesebeanmilk
Summary: “All great and precious things are lonely."Based off of mine and m-f-w's Dragon AU on tumblr.Check it out: https: https://m-f-w.tumblr.com/https://cheesebeanmilk.tumblr.com/
Series: Two Worlds - Dragon AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1376824
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The Green Drake

Andrew’s stomach is growling from the second he wakes up. He’s sprawled out on a raggedy blanket in his small cave. It’s relatively small but he doesn’t need that much space for just him. It’s in a good spot out in the forest and he’d frozen over a waterfall to give it his own flair. The ice gives the small amount of light in the cave a blue hue and it keeps things cool for him. The plunge pool surrounding the waterfall is frozen over as well. It may seem out of place amongst the greenery surrounding it but in this area, it’s a well-known spot to any who dare approach it.

Andrew himself is not a very friendly individual. And he’s even worse when he’s hungry. The last meal he had was the food a villager brought him two days ago. The people in the area are wrapped around his little finger, they know better than to retaliate. He’s eaten more than a couple of the villagers, not to mention frozen anyone who tried to fight him in the past. Now they bring him food every day – except this time, they’ve missed the deadline. He would have to punish whoever came around today. He has to keep some sort of order, if he let things slip then he’ll lose out on food. He yawns and stretches his arms above his head. He’s tired. He hasn’t left his cave in a few days, maybe it’s time he gets from fresh air.

He rolls his shoulders and pushes himself to his clawed feet. He'd seen humans wear things on their feet called 'shoes' and they wore them to protect the soft skin on the soles of their feet but Andrew's feet are hardy, they wouldn't be easily cut or hurt. Even if they were squishy like a human's he's sure he wouldn't wear shoes. He enjoys having the freedom of his toes out in the open, to feel the grass and the dirt on the bottom of his feet is an irreplaceable feeling. Almost a feeling of being one with his surroundings - at peace with the earth.

He steps out on to the ice, humming to himself as his feet make contact with the cool surface of it. He skates to the edge with a little too much force and stumbles over his own feet on to the turf. He steadies himself and sniffs deeply, taking in the scent of the dirt and grass, as well as every flower and plant he can wrap his senses around. The one thing about being out in the wilderness is that all of the smells were fantastic. He wouldn’t have it any other way. The area surrounding his cave is a sight he's gotten used to. It's heavily sheltered by an assortment of trees; pine, oak and even a few maple trees. He would regularly trace his claws along the bark, he'd long since familiarised himself with their patterns and textures. He could say he's done this hundreds of times to everything surrounding his cave. At this point it had become somewhat of a habit to comfort himself. So many trees should mean he should never feel too lonesome. His lips curl downwards into a frown at the thought and he wanders aimlessly for a couple of steps. He stops only to sit down.

Laying on his back in the grass, he stares up at the sky. It seems to be a regular thing for him to do but he likes to imagine shapes in the clouds, or just watch them do their thing. They’re interesting to him, how they could drift apart and split into smaller clouds. Not to mention he loves the rain. Seeing cumulonimbus clouds is always a gift and the sensation of rain on his scales is always calming when he needs it. Even the busy sound of rain was comforting in a way, always loud enough to focus on to push intrusive thoughts away. Right now, it’s partly cloudy. The sun peeks out from beneath its cover every now and then to briefly bathe Andrew in heat. He’s not very fond of sunny weather, it’s too hot for him and he preferred to sit in the shade during particularly hot days. That or he would retreat to his cave. The small sunspot is evened out by a gentle gust of wind tousling his hair. His pointed ears prick up at the sound of leaves and branches being gently jostled by the breeze and the quiet beat of a birds wings has him directing his attention to it.

He watches the small creature soar overhead and feels a sense of longing in his heart. He wishes he could fly and get out of here, regardless of how comfortable he is here, there’s still a sense of emptiness inside him. He’s been on his own for as long as he can remember. He’s never come across another dragon in his life but perhaps that’s due to how reclusive he tends to be. He had the villagers but they’re only so fun to mess around with for a short while before he gets bored again. He sighs and shifts into a sitting position when he hears someone approaching. His ears twitch at the sound of heavy feet breaking a few fallen branches and his nose twitches as he smells the familiar scent of human. Another sniff reveals the aroma of home-cooked food, enchanting every fibre of his being. His forked tongue flicks along his cracked lips as his stomach rumbles in anticipation.

“G-Great dragon?” A young woman calls out to him, resting her hand against a low hanging branch. She’s draped in milkmaid garb, a white dress and apron tied in a bow around her waist. Long dark hair is pushed behind her ears, showing off her young and delicate features. Her skin is covered in freckles and Andrew can’t help but stare for a moment. Usually, they sent the elderly or the frail to him, perhaps in an attempt to have him show mercy towards them. He never did. They’re just humans after all, but this particular one is a pretty little thing. He narrows his amber eyes as he regards the basket resting in the crook of her arm, clearly it's what she's been given to offer him.

“Good Morning.” He greets her with a warm smile, scrambling to his feet eagerly. She flinches at the quick movement, clutching tightly at the basket she’s holding. She looks confusedly at him. Clearly she's surprised by his own youthful appearance.

“Morning?” She blinks at him “It’s the afternoon.”

Andrew refrains from sneering at her, smiling wider instead as he shrugs nonchalantly. How dare a human undermine him. That's everyone's issue. They all undermine him.

“Good Afternoon then.”

“Good Afternoon. I…I brought you some food, I hope that it’s enough.” She offers the basket out to him with a cautious smile, which he swiftly snatches from her grasp and searches inside. It's filled with three loaves of bread, a wedge of cheese and a few cuts meats that have been cooked and kept for him. There are even a few oats and berries stored inside. It’s a moderate amount of food, not a lot and not too little. He nods his head.

“This is fine.” He says, setting the basket in the grass and tracing a clawed finger along the side of the human's face “It’s a pity, really.”

“A…pity?” She asks, her face paling. Andrew sighs as he feels the prickle of scales breaking apart his skin, the sharp pain feels something similar to a blade slicing at his soft flesh. Blood covers the scales but a quick dip in the river later would help. It’s not a painless transition. The snapping and clunking of his bones are horrifying as his limbs twist and morph unnaturally. His breathing is shallow but it’s nothing he isn’t used to. He shakes the pain off quickly. The girl’s hands shake as she watches him with petrified eyes. She's frozen in place momentarily but at the soft grumble of Andrew's stomach, she trips over herself to escape. She turns on her heel, legs shaking as she tries to run. She barely makes it to the treeline when Andrew pins her down with a single claw. Her breathing is erratic and under his foot he can feel her pathetic heart-rate beating rapidly. She never stood a chance, it really is a pity. But lessons must be taught.

He rests for a while after his meal to allow himself to digest, pulling the salvageable bones inside and putting them with the rest of his collection. He’s not sure why he keeps them, they’re not very comfortable to sleep on and they have no other purpose except crowding up his already small living space. But…he can’t help but collect more. It’s a habit at this point to hoard every bone he could. He supposes they're company. These remains were once living beings and if they were insufferable before, at least as bones they couldn't be. Undermining him only led to their demise and their bones serve as proof of this. Almost like a trophy, to prove his worth - his strength.

When he shifts back to his smaller form later, he takes it upon himself to bathe in the plunge pool. There are a few patches of ice that are thin enough for him to break in order to access the water underneath. He’s still covered in blood and when he dips his head under the water he lets the cold take over him. He spends a moment under the surface, tawny eyes blinking as he watches the blood from his transformation wash into the water. The volume of the water couldn't possibly be diluted by the small fraction of blood but he watches it disperse and disappear in front of him with interest anyway. It's more of the human’s blood than his own. Andrew shakes his head when he rises to the surface, his hair in tight ringlets. Scrubbing at his skin and scales to wash off the remainder of his blood, he watches as his breath comes out white and foggy in appearance. He’s freezing and enjoying every moment of it. He wishes he'd picked somewhere higher in the mountains to settle for a colder climate but that was the last place he wanted. He’s already so terribly lonesome where he is, never mind if he was hidden in the mountains away from everyone and everything. His frown sinks further at the notion. All of these years and he’d still never met another like him.

Andrew pushes his wet hair out of his face and pulls himself out of the pool of water. He shakes his head, water spraying in every direction as he carries his sopping wet form to his cave. He rolls up his clothes in a messy ball of material and throws them on the ground as he sprawls out on his blanket with a long yawn. He’ll soak the blanket but he doesn’t care all that much. It would dry eventually. He’d not bothered to wash his clothes while he bathed, he would get around to it eventually but he knows he should have done it while he was in the water. He grunts and wraps himself up in his blanket, trying his best to relax himself. He wonders if the young woman had a family, if they would be worried about her well-being when she didn’t come home. He snorts, he doesn’t care about her family, nor does he care about her. He’s merely envious of the thought of someone caring about him. But how could they? Nothing about him is worth giving a damn about.

Perhaps if he hadn’t eaten her then she could have had potential. The potential to befriend him. He wrinkles his nose at the thought. Perhaps not. The villagers would pry on any weakness they could and have her manipulate him. That would be his downfall. Trusting a human. Trusting anyone for that matter. He’s been alone for years, it’s all he knows – but he’s safer this way, he couldn’t get hurt this way. He tugs his blanket tighter around himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He wishes his thoughts would give him a moment's peace. For being such a free creature, his thoughts seem to entrap him inside his own head. Eventually they'll yield and let him drift into his much needed rest.

Andrew awakens from his deep slumber a couple of days later to the smell of smoke. It’s thick in the air like slurry, overpowering his every sense. He dresses quickly. Where on earth is that coming from? He knows the humans wouldn’t have the bravery to burn him out of his den but he can’t help the feeling of dread that possesses him, leading him outside. He stumbles out of the entrance of his cave and frowns at the dark grey sky. It's all smoke and it’s so thick it almost brings tears to Andrew’s eyes. He journeys briskly in the direction of the village, urgency in every footstep. Ash lingering in the air means something dreadfully wrong has happened. The heavily wooded trail to the village is covered in the same ash, falling like snow to the forest floor. Andrew breaks into a sprint, skidding to a halt when he gets to the outskirts of his village. His eyes run over the wreckage, desperately clinging to the sight of everything he'd conquered burning down before him. Scorch marks cover the ground, the majority of the village buildings are still ablaze and there seems to be no one left to question about the events.

The villagers could have finally decided they had enough and set the place alight to spite him but by the looks of things it wasn’t intentional – at least not on their part. His ears raise slightly at the sound of a distant, high-pitched laugh. It’s much too melodic, too satisfied. Andrew narrows his eyes and ducks behind the remains of a water well as he hears two sets of footsteps growing closer. The culprits. He could almost bet on it. He purses his lips in order to hold back a growl rising in his throat as they pass by, talking aimlessly amongst themselves.

He can barely see through his own rage when he propels himself forward, tackling one of them to the ground. They tumble over each other before stopping with Andrew straddling the other creature. He’s in the middle of snarling at the apparent pyromaniac when his appearance sinks in. He has scales. Golden scales that wrap gracefully around his arms and throat, pointed ears much like Andrew's and a pair of turquoise eyes staring up at him. He doesn’t allow the other dragon’s presence to sway his anger. If anything, his fury only rises. He’s never met another dragon after he was abandoned by his family as a child. And now out of nowhere, there’s one under him. Andrew’s hands are pressed into the dirt on either side of the golden dragon’s head as he bares his sharp teeth.

“Who are you?” His tone is demanding, intimidating even and he feels a sense of pride swell in his chest. He’s not such a runt after all.

“Who are you?” The golden dragon asks in return, looking to his friend for help but receiving a shrug of his shoulders in return. They’re both dragons but the other one is much different, much broader and his scales glimmer red and orange in the firelight. He doesn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest by Andrew’s angry demands, simply crossing his arms and watching in amusement. Almost as if he's undermining him. He roars and the golden dragon sucks in a breath when Andrew grabs two handfuls of his clothing, tugging him upward to inspect him closer.

“I asked first. Now tell me!”

“Tanner.” The name tumbles from the other’s mouth and he immediately bites at his lip as though it was a mistake to say anything at all. Andrew’s never heard the name before but that’s no surprise. It’s not like he knows many other beings and he definitely didn’t go out of his way to be chummy with the villagers – or anyone else for that matter to gain knowledge of their names. 

“You burned down my village, Tanner.”

“Your village?” The red dragon raises an eyebrow quizzically and Andrew huffs out a cold breath, sitting back on Tanner’s hips and crossing his arms like the red dragon had only a moment ago. 

“Yes. The people here treat me as if I’m their king.” 

“Treated. Past-tense considering every last one of them is dead.” The red one laughs, sounding proud of his actions “I made sure of that.”

“And what would your name be?” Andrew has to admit, he respects how blunt he’s being with him. He’s more than a little shaken that there are two dragons in his company and he no matter how hard he tries, he can't latch on to his previous anger. All this time he’d spent alone and now there are two of his own kind right here. He’s in the right mind to jump at the opportunity to bombard them with questions but he holds his ground, digging his claw into Tanner's chest.

"Jared." The name slips off his tongue as though he's said it a million times. He probably has. "What about you, what's your name?"

Andrew freezes up for a moment. He's never been asked for his name before. The villagers had always been too frightened to ask him any personal questions - and rightfully so, he likely would've eaten them if they'd asked. But being asked by someone that seems moderately interested in him sends his mind into a spiral. He's questioning his own beliefs. Should he really let someone in? Give them the chance to hurt him like he was hurt before? He loosens his grip on Tanner. It's clear he's already made his decision. It's time to finally let go of the past. Whether or not these dragons mean him harm, he's ready to open up if they are.

He slowly climbs off of Tanner and stands tall above him, allowing him to get up but offering no help in doing so. Tanner dusts himself off and regards Andrew curiously. His eyes turn icy as soon as he’s on his feet and he opens his mouth to say something. Andrew can only assume it's going to be rude but before he can get any words out, he's turning on his heel and disregarding him entirely. He directs his attention to the red dragon who raises his eyebrows in amusement at him. He grins a toothily and he feels as though something shifts in him. It's the first time he's smiled genuinely in a long time.

“My name is Andrew."

It's a big step for him. To finally give his name to anyone after so many years of being alone. He's surprised he didn't forget his name after all this time.

"Well, Andrew." Jared curves his back in a short stretch and Andrew feels his heart swell when he calls him by his name. It's a strange thing. It's almost like validation that other beings recognise he's here. He exists. He's not just some monster, here to bring turmoil on others. He has thoughts and feelings. And a name.

"Your village is a wreck and we're hungry. Come with us and we'll present you with another village to wreak havoc upon." Jared ruffles a hand through Tanner's hair, getting an unimpressed growl in response as he slaps him away. It's clearly an act of affection, regardless of his lack of friendly relationships Andrew had observed humans for long enough to understand their body language. These dragons care about one another and he can't help but yearn to be a part of it.

All of his talk of being safer alone doesn't seem to matter anymore. He couldn't care less about being safe if it means being alone. With these dragons he could have companionship and if that means he could be in danger? It's a risk he's willing to take. He's all too quick to agree. He doesn't have many belongings at all, so he simply brings himself. The implication of murdering innocent villagers makes him laugh. Whether it's for sport or for feasting - he doesn't care. It's not like all of the other times he's done the same thing. He has company this time and he has every intention of keeping it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Well! I fell off the face of the earth for a while there but guess who's back! ... Me, the answer is me. I have the Dragon AU sequel and a few other things in my drafts at the moment so hopefully, I'll be able to get those uploaded soon for you all to help cope with these trying times.


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